Provisions
What if The Stranger joined the Motel Group?
Adam sat in the back of his dad's car, Lizzie nervously watching as their parents argued.
"We're doing fine on our own." Argued their dad, Mitch.
"But for how much longer?" Demanded their mother, Tess, "We had a near miss with Adam going missing, I swear, it's as if you're trying to get us killed!"
"I'm trying to keep us alive!" Retorted Mitch, as a stick broke behind him. Whirling around, the parents found themselves staring at a group of people.
"Hey." Waved a black man, looking sick and tired.
"Hello." Greeted Mitch, glancing around the group, counting three women, two men, a teenager and two children, "Can I help you?"
"We're, er," the man looked around, "on our way back to our place."
"You've got a place?" Asked Tess, throwing a quick glance at her husband, "We've been looking for a place to settle down."
"Absolutely not." Snapped a woman with long hair, disgust on her face, "We don't have enough for ourselves, let alone you."
"We've got supplies." Said Tess, nervously looking at the woman, "And, Mitch is an experienced hunter."
"I'm convinced." Said the other man, white with a moustache.
The woman with long hair gave him a disgusted look.
"Sorry, if we seem on edge." Apologised the first man, "I'm Lee, she's Lilly," her pointed at the disgusted looking woman, "Carley," he pointed at a woman with a short bob, "Kenny," the other man, "his wife, Katjaa," a woman with dark blonde hair gave them a small wave, "their son, Du- Kenny Jr, we just call him Duck," a boy around ten, who waved and smiled brightly, "Ben," the teenager, "and, Clementine." A girl with a baseball cap, who waved shyly.
"I'm Tess," Tess gestured at Mitch, "My husband, Mitch, and our two kids, Adam and Elizabeth, are in the car."
Lee gave them a nod, "Sorry, for intruding, we've just left a bunch of cannibals."
Tess and Mitch glanced at each other, "R-really?"
"Yeah, we lost a couple of our people." Grimaced Lee, "We left 'em for the Walkers."
Tess gave a hesitant nod, before noticing Kenny was bleeding, "You're hurt."
"Yeah," Kenny glanced down, "one of the fuckers shot me."
"Kenny!" Reprimanded Katjaa, frowning at him.
"Sorry."
"If we get back to your place," Tess looked around them, "I could take a look at it, I'm a doctor."
"That could help us." Carley murmured to Lee, "and it might help Clem and Duck to have some kids their own age around."
Lee nodded, glancing at Mitch, before glancing at Clementine, "I don't see a problem."
"You wouldn't." Muttered Lilly, scowling.
"Ben, why don't you run ahead and open the gates for them?" Suggested Lee, looking at Ben.
"I'll go with him." Said Carley, grabbing Ben's shoulder and vanished into the night.
"I'll drive ahead," Sighed Mitch, before glancing at Clementine and Duck, "I can take them with me, if you'd like."
Kenny and Lee glanced at each other, before the former nodded, "It'll be safer than walking through the dark."
Lee ushered the kids into the station wagon, with Clementine noticing that they had a radio. They watched the car drive off, leaving Tess with Lee, Kenny, Katjaa and Lilly.
"What happened at the cannibals?" Asked Tess, as they started walking.
"They fed some of us one guys legs." Answered Lee, his mind going back to the meat locker, "Then, another one had a heart attack while we were in the meat locker."
Tess thought she heard Lilly scoff, but ignored her, "They had a heart condition?"
"Yeah."
"I'm surprised he survived this long." Remarked Tess, "I had a patient with a heart condition, ignored everything I suggested to help alleviate it, so I had to prescribe him nitro-glycerin tablets. Ooh, you should've seen the shade of red his face went."
"I doubt he had his head crushed." Spat Lilly, glaring at Lee and Kenny.
"We had to stop him from turning." Retorted Kenny, sounding tired, "How long would you have let it go on before putting him down?"
"He could've been saved." Snarled Lilly, getting a sigh from Lee.
"Lilly, he turned." Lee looked back at her, "I checked his eyes."
Lilly trembled, before looking down. The group continued the rest of their journey in silence, with Katjaa glancing at Kenny.
P
Lee frowned, Mitch had taken Clementine's radio, saying something about fixing it. Checking the rooms, he found Mitch frowning as he looked at the radio.
"You alright?" Mitch looked up at the sound of Lee's voice.
"I've checked the insides of it, the batteries and the antenna," Said Mitch, "I know this model, I've fixed it hundreds of times, and do you think I can get it to work?"
"Clem mentioned dropping while we were escaping the drug store." Said Lee, making Mitch freeze.
"It was dropped?" Asked Mitch, getting up.
"Yeah, she said she dropped it." Answered Lee, as Mitch suddenly struck it against the wall. Lee watched Mitch press the 'on' button, hearing the telltale click of it activating.
"Sorry, did you need something?" Asked Mitch, looking at Lee.
"Um, yeah," Lee rubbed the back of his neck, "er, before all this went down, I, er, I was…"
"A convicted murderer?" Asked Mitch, "We know. Personally, I'm certain you would've been acquitted if it went to trial."
"Doesn't change the fact I kill him." Answered Lee, "It's just, with how things have been going, I thought people should know."
Mitch nodded, "Have you told anyone else?"
"Most of the group, excluding Lilly and the kids," Answered Lee, "Lilly probably already knows, and I told Clem, because she was with me when Carley confronted me about it, back when all this started."
Mitch nodded, "I've heard Kenny talking about moving on. I've planned on going to Savannah, see if I could locate a boat." Mitch gave Lee a piercing look, "Clementine mentioned that her parents were in Savannah."
"Yeah." Sighed Lee, knowing where Mitch was going.
"And, since you've not mentioned them," Continued Mitch, "you know something Clementine doesn't."
Lee sighed, "The day I met her, the police car I was in crashed, I climbed her house's fence to get away from some Walkers. I let myself into the house, after yelling that I was coming in, there were messages on the answering machine. Her mom said that her dad had been bit."
"So, it's safe to assume that she was bitten not long after." Finished Mitch, crossing his arms, "Why haven't you told her?"
"I don't want to break the hope she has." Shrugged Lee, looking lost.
"Lee," Sighed Mitch, "sometimes it's better to break someone's hope, than for it to be broken and them to find out you knew the entire time."
Lee sighed, running a hand down his face, "I'll… I'll talk to her about it."
Mitch nodded, "I'm going to take some of the supplies, head to Savannah, and case the place. If Clementine's parents are alive, I'll find them and bring them here." He looked at Lee, "If anything happens in the meantime, head there."
Lee nodded, going back out to the others. A couple of hours later, after wishing him luck, the group watched Mitch drive away.
"I need you two to go on a supply run." Said Lilly, getting Lee and Kenny's attention.
The two men shared a glance, before nodding.
P
"Well, things went to shit real fast." Said Lizzie, looking up at the adults.
"Thank god we had the foresight to stick the supplies in the RV." said Kenny, as Tess checked everyone over.
"Lizzie," Tess looked at her daughter, "why don't you play with the others?"
Lizzie scowled, but stomped over to Duck, Clementine and Adam.
"Carley," Tess got the other woman's attention, "I need you to check Katjaa's shoulder, it's bleeding a bit too much for my liking."
Glancing around, Tess sighed, "Ben, you need to apply more pressure, I don't want Lee to bleed out because you were squeamish."
Lee groaned as Ben pressed the balled-up fabric against his shoulder, "Of all the places to get shot, it had to be my good arm."
"I'm more concerned about the bullet still being in there, Lilly, don't stand, you've got a concussion," Tess looked at the front, "Carley, how's Katjaa's shoulder?"
Carley was silent, before looking at Kenny. The man looked over and gawked, "Son of a bitch!"
The RV swerved, hitting a Walker, "Shit!"
"What is it?" Asked Lilly, as Tess made her way towards Katjaa.
"Oh, fuck." Tess softly swore, seeing the bite on Katjaa's shoulder, "Katjaa's been bitten."
The RV was silent, getting a sigh from Lilly, "So, what are we gonna do?" Part of Lilly wanted to find out who made the deal with the Bandits, but Tess had taken control as the doctor of the group.
Tess was silent, making Lee pipe up, "We're gonna want to deal with that Walker Kenny hit." The man groaned, "We can decide from there."
"What if she turns?" Asked Lilly, "We all heard what Ben said, the bite kills, and we turn anyway."
"I hate to say it," Carley looked at Kenny, "but, it might help us if we know how long it actually takes."
Kenny didn't say a word, getting out of the RV and checking on the Walker. Lee groaned, getting up, taking the fabric from Ben and stumbled up to Carley, "Kenny!"
"Lizzie," Tess looked at her daughter, "take the others to the end of the RV."
Lizzie looked up at her, before doing as she was told. The group heard Kenny kill the Walker, before he re-entered the RV. The man growled, before hitting the steering wheel.
"What do we do?" Asked Lee, looking between the others.
"We've got a couple of guns." Said Lilly, propping herself up, "So, we can put her down when she turns."
Kenny remained silent.
"How do we tell the kids?" Asked Carley, glancing at the back, "I mean, none of them were presence when we lost Mark and Larry."
"Clementine was." Muttered Lilly, giving Lee a glare.
"He's already started turning." Sighed Lee, giving Lilly a tried look, "Kenny, we need your input with this."
Kenny, again, remained silent.
"Kenny, why don't you let Lilly or Lee take over driving?" Asked Ben, getting a glare from Tess, "What?"
"Lee's got a fucked-up arm and Lilly's got a concussion." Said Tess, glaring at Ben.
"…sorry." Muttered Ben, before Tess told Lee and Lilly to go and sit back down. Lee was vaguely aware of himself falling asleep, as Tess and Carley discussing their options at Kenny.
P
Lee groaned as the light hit him.
"Oh, you're alive." Said Lilly, getting a dull glare from Lee.
"Has anything happened?" Asked Lee, standing up.
"Well," Lilly followed him, "Kenny's refusing to talk about Katjaa, the kids don't know what's going on, Ben's being useless, Carley's keeping watch for Walkers and Tess is watching Katjaa. And, no, she hasn't turned yet."
Lee nodded, before shakily getting off the RV and stopping at the sight of the train.
"And there's a train blocking the road."
Lee sighed, before looking around, "Where are the kids?"
"Over there." Lilly pointed at a tree, "Adam said he needed to shit."
"His words or yours?"
"His."
Lee nodded, walking towards the train, frowning as he spotted Ben crouching by the driver's cabin, "You alright up there, Ben?"
"Not so loud!" Whispered Ben, "I think there's a walker in there."
Lee sighed, he had a feeling he was going to be sighing a lot, "Get back to the others."
P
Tess sighed, Clementine's radio was giving intermittent buzzes. After Lee sent Ben back to them, they were greeted by an old man. He gave his name as Chuck, saying he was living in the train. He'd introduced himself to the whole group, and Lee and Kenny got the train working and Lee found some food for the kids. So, here they were, on a train with Lilly guarding the supplies, Kenny driving the train, Ben watching the scenery go by and Lee and Carley teaching the kids how to defend themselves.
Tess heard the pop of a gunshot and the sound of a bottle shattering, looking up, she saw Clementine beaming up at Lee and Carley.
"I guess Clem's got the 'dead eye' huh?" Tess gave them a small smile, before looking down at Katjaa, "She's not progressing well."
"You looked at Chuck as if you knew him." Said Lilly, diverting Tess's attention away from Katjaa.
Tess sighed, "He's a doctor, his full name is Charles John Marston. I trained under him when I first started practicing."
Katjaa let out a violent cough, making the group freeze.
"We have to stop the train." Said Tess, looking at Lee, "I think we've reached the end."
P
Lee sighed, they'd stopped the train and put Katjaa down. Part of him was disgusted at the phrase, put her down, like she was some dog or animal. Duck had closed off for a while, the boy hadn't left the train when they were forced to stop. So, he didn't meet Christa and Omid until they were getting away from the horde of the undead.
"Who's he?" Asked Christa, looking down at Duck.
"He's recently lost his mother." Answered Tess, "She was bitten."
"Ouch." Grumbled Omid, as Chuck prodded his leg, "Couldn't been a bit gentler?"
"Well," Chuck looked at him, "I could, but we need to figure out what's wrong with it first."
"Oh, how I could do with an MRI or X-Ray machine right about now." Moaned Tess, as she checked Omid's foot.
Their conversation was interrupted by Lee quietly entering the compartment.
"What's wrong?" Asked Lilly, straightening up.
"Mitch's been in contact." Said Lee, "He ran into another survivor, said her name was Molly, he…thinks he's found Clementine's parents."
"That's a good thing…right?" Christa eyed Lee suspiciously.
"They're dead." Said Lee, "He's holed up in the Marsh House, he suggested we meet up with him there."
Tess frowned but nodded. Hopefully thing wouldn't go pear shaped.
P
"Are we there yet?" Whined Adam, as the group walked through the streets. They'd stuffed all their supplies into some rucksacks they found, with Lee and Kenny carrying the bulk of it.
"Almost." Said Tess, looking at Lee, "It should be the next left."
Lee nodded and they turned down at street. Lee paused at the sight of a blonde girl leaning against a wall watching a couple of restrained Walkers. He heard Clementine let out a terrified gasp, getting a deep sigh from Lee.
"Those are…" Carley looked at Lee.
"Clem's parents." Nodded Lee, before gently ushering the group forwards.
"You Mitch's people?" Asked the girl, looking each of them over, "I'm Molly."
"Lee." He pointed at the others and introduced them.
Molly nodded, "Mitch is looking for a boat, said something about you guys wanting one."
Lee nodded, before looking around, as Mitch's car drove up to them, with a boat hitched to the back of it. Stopping, Mitch stepped out, "It's got no gas and is missing it's battery, but it should work."
Lee nodded, as Kenny looked the boat over.
P
"Are you sure about this?" Asked Carley, as Lee looked over the group.
"We should be fine," Said Lee, "Molly knows the place, so we can go through the place and avoid their patrols."
Carley nodded, before looking over at Tess, Lilly, Chuck and the kids, "You sure about leaving me behind?"
"Car," Chided Lee, softly, "what's the worst that could happen?"
P
Lee was kicking himself. Crawford had fallen, so things were slightly easier for them. Clementine had followed them, with Ben only noticing when he saw her climbing up the ladder out of the sewer. They'd split up, Christa and Mitch went to get the drugs, Kenny had gone to get fuel, he and Molly went to get the battery and Clementine was watching over Ben in an old Geography classroom.
Then Kenny got back with the fuel and took over trying to get a door open, Lee helped Mitch and Christa get the drugs and they ran into Molly on the way back to the group, only to find Ben had removed a hatchet from a door that they were using to keep the Walkers out, which led to them bursting in and Clementine nailing a Walker wrestling with Molly in the head.
So, now they were holding a door shut, while Kenny tried to kick their escape plan open. Then Ben decided now was the best time to come clean about something.
"I was the one making the deal with the Bandits."
Lee froze, just as the glass on the door broke and he felt a pain in his left arm. Assuming it was from the glass, Lee moved out of the way, as Mitch shoved a bunch of tables against the door.
Kenny, after taking the information in, turned and looked at Ben, "You…"
"Kenny," Said Lee, "we can deal with him later, but right now, we gotta move."
The group rushed to the top of the tower, with a horde of the dead chasing after them. Ben got caught by the reanimated remains of Crawford, with Lee pulling him free and getting bit on the hand. Deciding to deal with it later, Lee shoved Ben towards the ladder, "Climb down." He growled.
P
"It hasn't been long, maybe we could cut it off?" Suggested Tess, "Katjaa's bite was on her shoulder, too close to the arteries to safely amputate, and, from the time of her bite, she lasted about a day before succumbing to it."
"How're we gonna stop the bleeding?" Asked Carley, "A tourniquet can only do so much."
"Well, you could cauterise the wound." Said Chuck, "We got the needed stuff for it."
"Lee?" Lilly got his attention, "Are you willing to do this?"
Lee sighed, before looking at them, "Fuck it. Let's cut it off."
An hour later, Lee was kicking himself, why did he have to be an idiot and refuse the pain killers? It was odd, seeing his arm contort, even more so, when it fell to the floor and Mitch hurriedly pressed the bleeding stump against the heated metal of a pot that they'd stuck in a fire until it started to glow.
Then Lee saw darkness.
P
"Is…is Lee okay?" Asked Clementine, looking up at Carley.
Carley sighed, before sitting next to Clementine and pulled her to her, "Hopefully, Clem."
"Well," Tess and Chuck stepped out of the hotel room Lee was in, "The bleeding's stopped, so we don't have to worry about him bleeding to death."
"And given the herd outside," Kenny folded his arms, "We're gonna be sat here for a while."
"Which gives us the opportunity to decide what to do with him." Lilly glared at Ben, "He stole from us and gave to those bandits."
"Maybe he was under duress." Remarked Carley, not really believing it.
"T-they said they had one of my friends." Said Ben.
The group stared at him.
"Did, did you get confirmation?" Asked Tess, folding her arms.
"N-no—"
"My wife died because of you," Snarled Kenny, "I don't know why Lee bothered to save you, 'cause your as useful as burnt-out truck!"
"And the shit he pulled back a Crawford," Spat Mitch, "Letting all those Walkers in, almost killing Lee."
Clementine buried her face in Carley's shoulder, as Lilly looked over at the other woman, "You're being surprisingly quiet."
Carley sighed, levelling Ben with a look, "I defended you when Lilly was throwing accusations around in the RV. You could've owned up to it and we would've acting accordingly."
The group was prevented from continuing by the door opening and Lee stumbling out.
"Lee!" Clementine rushed towards him and hugging him, getting a grunt from the man, "You're okay!"
Lilly placed her hand on her pistol, as Carley stood up, "Lee?"
Her looked at her, "I know I shouldn't ask this, but does anyone have any bourbon?"
P
The group watched the street outside the hotel. Mitch had gone to get the car, after Kenny and Christa managed to find an van that was still in working order.
"If we're lucky," Said Lilly, "the RV could be where we left it."
"Hopefully." Said Carley, as she helped Lee with the rucksack of supplies.
"He should be here by now." Muttered Tess, nervously fiddling with her ring.
Lee frowned, looking for Mitch's car, before grabbing the radio, "Kenny, are you near Mitch?"
"I saw him get in his car and start heading back." Said Kenny, "He might be trying to avoid the Walkers."
Lee frowned, before looking at Ben, "Ben, go check outside."
"W-what?" Ben looked around, "W-why me?"
The group stared at him.
"You cannot be asking that." Lee's voice was flat, "If there are Walkers out there, just run back here."
Ben nodded, before heading out of the lobby. Lee winced and looked at his stump, "Man, I can still feel my fingers."
"Phantom limb syndrome." Said Tess, "It's common for amputees."
"Still hurts."
Ben reappeared outside the hotel, "I've seen Mitch's car but…Mitch isn't the one driving."
Lee frowned, "What?"
"It's some old guy and there are four others with him." Said Ben, just as Mitch's car sped past.
"Shit." Swore Lee, as the car vanished around a corner, before Lee grabbed with radio, "Kenny, Mitch's been carjacked."
"Shit." Said Kenny, "I see him. Fuck. Guys, I think he's turned."
"You serious?" Asked Lee, as Tess froze.
"That or he's stumbling around with a bullet wound in his back." Said Christa, before a thumping sound was heard on the radio, "No, he's turned."
"Shit." Lee looked around the group, "Get back here."
"Already on our way." Said Christa, "Kenny's putting Mitch down."
Lee nodded, but he had a feeling something was off, "Christa, how's Kenny coming along?"
Christa was silent, making Lee frown, a moment later, Christa pulled up in front of the hotel, without Kenny.
"Where's Kenny?" Asked Lilly, frowning at her.
"He got swarmed." Said Christa, "He dealt with Mitch, but, fuck. There came out of nowhere."
Lee sighed, "There ain't much we can do now." He looked at the others, "Get in."
P
They were lucky, extremely lucky. They found a car stocked with more supplies on the way back to the RV, and the RV was where they left it. Keys still in the ignition. Sighing, Lee looked over at the kids, Lizzie was curled up with her leg stuck out, Adam was sprawling on the floor and Duck and Clementine were slumped against each other, before looking at Carley. Lilly was driving the Van behind them, and Tess was in the car in front of them.
"You okay, Lee?" Carley glanced at him.
"Yeah," Lee sighed, glancing back at the rest of their group in the back, "we will be."